Afraid
by HeKillsWithHisSmile
Summary: Kinda fits in a bit with the Beginning of the best of both lives. But can be read alone.   Rose won't go swimming, but why? Is she scared? Can she not swim? And can the Doctor help her? rated K  But tell me if you think the rating should change. R&R!


_**Hello, my dear Fanfiction readers and writers. I am back (not that I went away in the first place), with another story. **_

_**So here we are! Hope you like...**_

**...Afraid**

The Doctor was slightly bored; Rose had wanted a relaxing day and was currently in the library with a book. So the Doctor had decided to work on the TARDIS to pass the time. He wished that Rose hadn't wanted a relaxing day so that they could go out somewhere. Being stuck in the TARDIS all day was boring. The Doctor wanted to run around, but he knew that if he did that inside the TARDIS with Rose with him, he would most certainly get some funny looks from her. And if the TARDIS had eyes, she would give him funny looks too.

The Doctor was desperately trying to think about what he and Rose could do on this relaxing day, but he couldn't think of anything other than board games and reading, which got a bit boring after a little while.

The Doctor swore he was about to go mad when suddenly he had an idea. He got up and ran down to the library to inform Rose. Maybe they could go swimming!

()()(ooOoo)()()

"No," Rose said after the Doctor had asked her about going swimming.

"Why not?" The Doctor asked.

"Because...I just don't feel like it, you can go if you want." Rose said then went back to her book.

"But I want to go with you." The Doctor told her.

"Doctor, I don't wanna go." Rose said.

"Please?"

"No,"

"Please?"

"No,"

"Rose..."

"NO."

"Fine," the Doctor walked off huffing like a 5 year old. Rose felt sorry for him; he didn't know why she didn't want to go. She did need to tell him, but she couldn't bring herself to do it.

Rose sighed and put down her book; she then got up and went to find the Doctor. She was going to tell him, the sooner the better. Maybe, if she was lucky, he could help her.

()()(ooOoo)()()

The Doctor had changed into a pair of bright coloured swimming trunks and was about to get into the pool. He couldn't help but think about why Rose hadn't wanted to come. It wasn't like her to turn down the chance to be with him. There had to be something she wasn't telling him. Was she ill? Maybe that had been why she had wanted a relaxing day. The thing was, she didn't seem ill, she seemed like herself. The Doctor could always tell when Rose was ill, but he didn't seem to notice anything that would suggest she was sick. The Doctor sighed and got into the pool. He would find out what was going on. And if he needed to, he would help her.

The water was cold, but a nice cold. It had been a little while since the Doctor had used the pool. He definitely hadn't been used since Rose had come aboard, which was a good few years now. However the TARDIS had kept the water clean just in case it was needed.

He began to swim, he did a few lengths of the pool before diving under. Whilst he was under the water he could see something running up to him. The Doctor surfaced and saw Rose running towards him.

"Rose, slow down, you'll slip and hurt yourself." But it was too late. Rose tried to stop but landed up falling head first into the water. The Doctor went over to her as she began to surface. She didn't look at him, instead she ran through the water and got out as soon as she could. She was clearly shivering, though not from the cold. As soon as Rose was out of the pool she ran off, not once looking at the Doctor, who was still standing in the pool. He looked confused. What had just happened? Why did she get out that fast? She didn't even look at him, to tell him off for not trying to catch her, which was odd. Something was up, the Doctor knew it. The Doctor got out the pool, grabbed his towel and ran after Rose.

He ran up to her room and knocked on the door.

"Rose, you in there?" The Doctor asked.

"Yeah," Came Rose's shaky reply.

"Can I come in?" The Doctor asked her.

"Hold on a sec." Rose's voice was still shaking. The Doctor was having trouble believing that it was because she was cold, so if she tried to use that excuse, he would know she was lying. "You can come in now." Rose told him.

The Doctor opened the door and walked inside. His towel was wrapped around his shoulders to keep him warm. His hair was still wet, but no longer dripping a bit like the rest of him. He stepped into her room and found Rose sitting on the bed, looking slightly frightened. The Doctor put his towel on the bed and sat down on it next to her, trying to keep the bed dry.

"What's wrong?" The Doctor asked her.

"Nothing," Rose replied.

"No, there's something wrong. What is it Rose? You can tell me you know." The Doctor told her.

"I'm fine." Rose insisted.

"I don't think you are. You ran out of the pool pretty quickly. So what's the matter? Do you feel ill?" The Doctor asked her. Rose shook her head.

"No, I don't feel ill."

"Then what's wrong?" The Doctor asked gently.

"I...I can't swim." Rose told him. "And I'm scared of the water. I have been since I was four." Rose said. She bowed her head as if she was ashamed of what she had said. The Doctor wrapped his arms around her.

"Why didn't you tell me?" The Doctor asked.

"Because, nothing ever really brought it up. Until now." Rose said.

"Did something happen? Or have you always been scared of the water?"

"Something happened."

"What?"

"It doesn't matter." Rose told him.

"Yes it does, I can help."

"You really wanna know?" Rose asked him.

"Yes,"

"OK," Rose took a deep breath and carried on. "We were at the beach. Me, mum and Mickey. Mum was sitting on the deck chair watching me and Mickey play near the sea. I was four and he was 9. Mum was close friends with his Nan, so that's how we know each other. Anyway, we were playing near the sea, making sandcastles. The sand nearer the sea was always better because it was wet. But the waves were pretty high and we had been told to stay away from them. Mum then told us that she was going to go and get some tea from the shop and had asked Mickey to look after me. When she was gone. I decided to go for a paddle. Mickey tried to stop me, but I didn't listen. I fell over and before I had the chance to get up, a wave came and took me with it on its return. When I had surfaced I realised that I was out of my depth and because I couldn't swim, I kept going under. I cried for Mickey and when he noticed me, I went under again and didn't come back up. Mickey swam over to me, grabbed me and pulled me back to the sand. I thought I was going to drown before he got me. And I was so glad that he got to me in time, because it would have ended terribly if not. Mum then came back and I ran to her crying. Mickey explained what had happened. Mum was angry at him at first for not taking proper care of me, but then she thanked him for saving me. After that we went home. I was shaking like mad and I kept having nightmares about it. And ever since then, I have been afraid to go into the water. Whether it's a pool, or the sea, or even a rock pool. I can't go in it. That's why I didn't want to go into the pool today Doctor, because I'm scared." Rose finished her story and the Doctor looked at her. He then brought her into a hug and told her that things were going to be all right.

They let go after a while and the Doctor brushed back the hair that had fallen into Rose's face.

"Tell you what, why don't you come with me and I'll help get over your fear of water and teach you how to swim. OK?" Rose nodded. "Good, come on then, get changed and meet me in the pool room." The Doctor told her.

"Doctor, I don't have a swimming costume." Rose told him.

"Try the wardrobe, there should be one in your size." The Doctor walked out of the room followed by Rose. The Doctor then went towards the pool and Rose went towards the wardrobe.

Rose found a swimming costume in her size and then walked back to her room to get changed. Once she was changed she grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her middle before walking to the swimming pool. To say she was scared was an understatement. She was terrified! But she knew she would feel safe with the Doctor there. She knew that he wouldn't let anything happen to her.

Rose made it to the swimming pool. She took a deep breath before entering. Inside she saw the Doctor waiting for her. On one of the deck chairs there were floats of all kinds sitting waiting to be used.

"Hey Rose. You all right?" The Doctor asked.

"Y...yeah." Rose stammered. She was so scared that she didn't even take in how good the Doctor looked in his swimming trunks.

"You ready?" The Doctor asked.

"N..No."

"Don't worry, you'll be fine. All I'm gonna do now, is get rid of your fear. Then once that has gone, I can help you learn to swim." The Doctor told her. Rose nodded. "Come on then." Rose put her towel on the chair and the Doctor led her to the pool. He held her hand as he led her down the steps. Once or twice, Rose tried to get out again, but the Doctor gently tugged her and she continued to follow him. Once they were in the water, Rose began to panic, even though the water was barely waist deep. The Doctor put his hands on her shoulders and tried to calm her down.

"Rose, calm down. You're safe." The Doctor told her. Rose began to calm down but still felt anxious.

"Can we get this over with?" Rose asked timidly. The Doctor didn't think he had seen a time where Rose looked so young and vulnerable.

"Yeah," the Doctor said.

"What do you want me to do?" Rose asked.

"I just want you to try and get over your fear. What scares you most?" The Doctor asked.

"Going under and drowning." Rose said.

"OK, well to get over that, you're gonna have to go under." Rose's eyes widened in fear.

"No, I'm not doing that." Rose said sternly.

"Rose, you've got to." The Doctor said.

"Well tough cos I'm not!" Rose made her way back through the water and began to get out. But the Doctor stopped her.

"Rose, I'll be there with you. I'll go under with you. Everything will be OK, I won't let anything happen to you." The Doctor told her.

"But I'm scared!"

"I know, but there is no other way to get over this." The Doctor said.

"OK, I'll do it." Rose made her way back to where they had been. The Doctor took her hand and looked her in the eye.

"On the count of three, we will both take a deep breath and go under. You don't have to open your eyes if you don't want to, but try." The Doctor told her.

"You won't let me drown, will you?"

"Of course I won't. I won't even let go of your hand." The Doctor told her.

"OK,"

"Right. 1...2...3!" The two of them took a deep breath and went under. Rose tried to open her eyes, but couldn't do it. She didn't stay under very long either. A memory of that day flashed in her head and she surfaced straight away. The Doctor following her. As soon as they were both above the water. Rose grabbed the Doctor into a hug and help on to him tightly. The Doctor wrapped his arms around her and held her to him.

"Hey, it's all right. You're safe Rose." The Doctor stroked her wet hair and kissed her head. He then let go of her and looked straight at her. "You OK?" Rose nodded shakily. "Do you want to do it again? The more you do it the easier it will become." Rose nodded slowly and they did the exact same thing again. Rose still hugged the Doctor afterwards, but she didn't hold him as tight, which showed the Doctor that they were beginning to make progress. They continued to do the same thing for a little while. Each time, Rose would hug him, but each time she hugged him less tightly and each time she stayed under for that little bit longer.

Finally after a short time, Rose was going under the water on her own without having to hold the Doctor's hand and without having to hug him afterwards for comfort, which the Doctor kinda missed. But it showed that she was becoming more confident.

They finally got out the pool after at least an hour of diving under and coming back up. Rose no longer looked that scared. She was still nervous about having to do it when the Doctor wasn't there, but she felt like she had made good progress. Both the Doctor and Rose knew that it would take a little while for Rose to be completely fearless of water. For 20 years she had been afraid. It wasn't something an hour could cure. But they were getting there. And the Doctor thought that after a few more lessons Rose would probably ready to start swimming. She was a fast learner, something that the Doctor had always loved about her.

The day came to a close and that night when Rose went to bed. She felt like some of the weight had come off her shoulders. Her fear had reduced and she felt happy.

She fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow, the Doctor's arms around her as she slept. She dreamed of him that night, telling her that everything was all right and that she was safe with him. She dreamt that she was in the pool with the Doctor and he was helping her to swim. In her dream she was scared but Rose herself didn't feel scared at what she was dreaming because her Doctor was there to help her.

()()(ooOoo)()()

When Rose awoke that morning she walked down to the kitchen where she saw the Doctor drinking a cup of tea whilst reading a book. The Doctor looked up when Rose came into the room.

"Hiya Rose. You all right?" He asked.

"Yeah," Rose sat down opposite him and tried to look at his book cover. "What're you reading?" She asked. The Doctor showed her the book cover and Rose rolled her eyes. He was reading Harry Potter for the umpteenth time. Rose was so sure he knew all seven books off by heart by now.

"So what are we doing today?" Rose asked.

"I dunno, what do you want to do?" The Doctor asked her.

"Can you help me in the pool again?" Rose asked him.

"If you want me to." The Doctor said.

"Great, I'll have breakfast and then we can get going." Rose grabbed a bowl and filled it with cereal.

"Rose, you can't swim straight after eating. You need to wait a bit first. You eat breakfast and we'll start in an hour, OK?" Rose nodded. "Good," he smiled at her before going back to his book. Rose poured the milk on her cereal and sat back down to eat.

An hour later, they were ready to go. They were both in their swimming gear and they were both standing in the swimming pool. The water was cold and Rose was still scared but she felt a lot calmer than yesterday. This time she hadn't tried to escape before getting in.

"Right, today. I'm gonna help you float on top of the water." The Doctor told her.

"OK,"

"Right, so what I want you to do is lean back and imagine that you are laying on your bed or on the floor." The Doctor told her. He put his hand behind her back so she felt like she had some support. Rose leant back but didn't get very far before standing back up again.

"Doctor, I'm not going to sink am I?" Rose asked.

"No, you're not going to sink, I promise. I'm supporting you." The Doctor told her.

"OK," Rose leant back again. She continued to lean back until she was horizontal. The Doctor slowly moved his hand away from Rose's back and smiled at her.

"What?" Rose asked.

"I'm not supporting you anymore." The Doctor said waving both his hands in the air.

"What!" Rose stood up.

"I wasn't supporting you after you were horizontal. You were doing it on your own." The Doctor told her.

"Really?"

"Yep! Why don't you try leaning back without my support?" The Doctor suggested. Rose nodded and began to lean back. This time she did it without the Doctor's help and she was floating.

"I did it!" Rose said happily.

"Yes you did!" Rose stood back up and hugged the Doctor.

"Now do you want to try it on your front?" Rose looked frightened for a moment but soon nodded.

Rose was able to do it on her front as well, but she didn't stay like that for long as she was still a bit scared of the going under, but the Doctor was impressed nonetheless.

They carried on like this for days. Finally the Doctor thought Rose was ready for swimming. So every day for a week the Doctor would help Rose with her swimming. They did all the strokes. Rose found backstroke easiest, simply because she didn't have to put her head under the water. After a week the Doctor decided that they should leave it for a while. So for a few days neither of them went into the pool room. Until one day, the Doctor decided to go for a dip in the pool and what he saw made his heart(s) cry with joy. There in there pool, Rose was swimming up and down. She was doing backstroke so she hadn't noticed the Doctor come in. But the Doctor couldn't help but smile. There she was his Rose swimming on her own with confidence. She didn't seem scared any longer and that was what the Doctor had wanted. He didn't want her to feel scared. She wasn't the best swimmer the Doctor had ever seen, but it was the fact that she had made so much progress in the last few weeks that the Doctor felt so happy for her. He walked up to the edge of the pool and continued to watch her. Finally Rose noticed him and stopped swimming and stood up.

"Doctor, hi." Rose said.

"Hi Rose." He smiled at her.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Nothing, It's just I can't believe how far you've come over these past few weeks." The Doctor said proudly.

"That's because I had the best teacher I could wish for." Rose smiled at him and the Doctor jumped in. He swam up behind Rose and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I'm so proud of you Rose." The Doctor told her rested his chin on her head.

"Thanks. You're the one who helped me. We wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you." Rose told him.

"Still, you did what I told you to and now look at you. I can see you in the 2016 Olympics Rose! GBR Gold medal winner you'll be!" The Doctor said.

"Somehow I don't think so." Rose smiled. The Doctor kissed her hair.

"It's possible."

"Maybe. I love you."

"I love you too." Rose turned around and kissed him. He kissed her back with the same passion.

~End

_**Year bit of a naff ending I know. And if you're wondering (which you probably are) I put 'Heart(s)' because it then kinda fits in with another one of my stories The beginning of the best of both lives. Cos for those of you who have read it will know that there is a bit where we are told that Rose can't swim and is scared of the water. So when I get there in the story you can imagine this and I won't have to write it out in full. I put the '(s)' there because this can be read alone with either 10 or 10.5.**_

_**And yes they were in a relationship. And I think if this is set in with TBOTBOBL then Rose is pregnant, but I didn't want to mention that cos like I said it can be read alone...**_

_**Hope you enjoyed it though! Thanks for reading!**_

_**DTSATRF!**_


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